At a brief noon-time ceremony in the College's Mead Chapel on June 30, John M. McCardell Jr. and Ronald D. Liebowitz marked the presidential transition that would become official on July 1. Quoting from W.H. Auden's "Goodbye to the Mezzogiorno," outgoing President McCardell said of his 13 years as president that "though one cannot always / Remember exactly why one has been happy, / There is no forgetting that one was." He offered his thanks to the crowd, largely made up of faculty and staff, and, following an extended ovation, he shed the presidential robe and donned his academic robe, symbolizing his return to the faculty for the 2005-06 academic year, following a year's leave. He helped Liebowitz put on the president's robe, and then handed off to the new president Gamaliel Painter's cane and a silver presidential medallion. Liebowitz acknowledged his wife, Jessica, and his infant son, David Heschel, and, stating that he was "extremely honored" by his appointment as Middlebury's 16th president, said he was eager to get underway. To the strains of the alma mater, the two recessed to the rear of the chapel and greeted members of the crowd individually.
President Liebowitz has appointed Michael D. Schoenfeld '73 as vice president for College Advancement. In this position, Schoenfeld will be responsible for the College's fund-raising programs, alumni and parent programs, communications, and public affairs. "Mike Schoenfeld has both a deep and broad knowledge of Middlebury College, its mission, its faculty and staff, its alumni, and, having served as dean of enrollment planning since 1995, its students," said Liebowitz. "He also brings to the position an understanding of what prospective students hold most important in choosing their college."
"This is an auspicious time for Middlebury College," said Schoenfeld. "We have a new president…who is determined to build on the incredible progress that Middlebury has made in recent years to move the College to the very top ranks of American higher education. We have a hard-working and supportive board of trustees, an incredibly loyal and dedicated alumni body, a talented and diverse student body, and involved parents. There is every reason to believe we can set and meet ambitious goals," he said.
Schoenfeld said his experience recruiting students helped him define the financial challenges he sees for Middlebury. "I have learned firsthand from my work in admissions and financial aid that Middlebury is competing for the very best students in the country against schools with far more financial resources," said Schoenfeld. "Middlebury must continue to do all that we can to support students and faculty to remain attractive in this extremely challenging environment."
Prior to assuming the position of dean of enrollment planning in 1995, he was actively involved in raising money for the College for 10 years as director of development, director of principal gifts, and director of capital and planned giving. Schoenfeld came to Middlebury in 1981 as an alpine ski coach.
In a move intended to head off illegal music file sharing among students, Middlebury College has signed an agreement with Napster, the online music company, that will permit free access by students to the 800,000 titles in Napster's song catalog. The College's Student Government Association voted to spend a portion of student activity fees to fund the service.
The agreement, announced by Napster on July 19, will allow unlimited streaming and downloading of music, and access to interactive, commercial-free radio. Students may legally share music and playlists with friends, though a fee will be charged to transfer titles to a CD or other listening devices. Other schools that will offer the Napster service include Cornell, George Washington University, University of Miami, USC, and Wright State. Penn State and the University of Rochester were the first to join Napster's university program last winter.
Middlebury's David Donahue, associate dean of library and information services, quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, said, "The administration made a decision really early on that this was not something we could justify spending tuition dollars on. Our feeling was this was primarily entertainment. But if students want it, and they're willing to spend student funds on it, that's something that we support," said Donahue.
By capturing national championships in both men's and women's Division III ice hockey this year, Middlebury joins eight other schools in pulling off double-gender championships in the 2003-04 season, according to the NCAA News. The others are Stanford (Division I cross country), Adams State College (Division II cross country), the University of Connecticut (Division I basketball), Auburn (Division I swimming and diving), Kenyon (Division III swimming and diving), Louisiana State (Division I indoor track and field) and the University of Southern California (National Collegiate water polo).
Middlebury's director of athletics, Russ Reilly, told the NCAA News that Middlebury holds some additional distinctions within the group of eight. "We won it on the same day, within the same hour, in the same state. We had a brother on one team and a sister on the other. We had a boyfriend on one team and a girlfriend on the other," said Reilly, who didn't mention that both team's coaches are named Bill (Mandigo and Beaney).
Samia Amin '03, is the recipient of a 2004 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship. As one of 39 recent college graduates to win the scholarship, Amin will receive an annual award of up to $50,000 for the length of her graduate degree program. These are the largest scholarships offered by any private foundation in the United States.
Amin, a political science major at Middlebury, graduated with a 3.8 GPA, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She attended the Middlebury Language Schools' French School in 2001. As a Middlebury student, Amin chaired a South Asia Club Symposium Committee, raising funds for a three-day cultural and literary conference that has become an annual event. She intends to pursue a master in public policy degree at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
The scholars may use the award to attend any accredited graduate school in the United States or abroad. This year's recipients were chosen from a pool of 1,226 nominees submitted by 747 colleges. For more about the foundation and the graduate scholarships see www.jackkentcookefoundation.org.
Middlebury faculty member Deb Ellis, visiting assistant professor of film and media culture, has won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film from the prestigious Provincetown International Film Festival. The film, "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train," documents the life and times of the historian, activist and author of the best selling classic "A People's History of the United States." According to Ellis, it is a story about "the possibility of hope, and a passionate testament to optimism." Learn more at http://www.firstrunfeatures.com.
Middlebury alumni who attended reunions in June can relive the experience photographically at: www.middlebury.edu/offices/alumni/reunion/reunion_gallery/.