MiddNews - May 2006
A monthly update of news and events from Middlebury College
Knowledge without Boundaries
On May 6, the Middlebury board of trustees unanimously approved a new strategic plan for the College: "Knowledge Without Boundaries."
The plan, which includes 82 recommendations, seeks to establish Middlebury as an institution with a global focus while strengthening its core mission as an undergraduate liberal arts college. Increased financial aid, a larger faculty, and enhanced residential life are three main components of "Knowledge Without Boundaries."
For more on Knowledge Without Boundaries, see: http://go.middlebury.edu/planning
For local media coverage of "Knowledge Without Boundaries," see: http://www.addisonindependent.com/?q=node/79
Tenure Achieved
In other news from the May board meeting, eight Middlebury faculty members were promoted from assistant professor to associate professor.
The board granted tenure to: Timothy T. Huang (Computer Science), Peter B. Nelson (Geography), William H. Pyle (Economics), Patricia Saldarriaga (Spanish), Pavlos Sfyroeras (Classics), Yumna Siddiqi (English), Jacob A. Tropp (History), and Thierry Warin (Economics).
For more, see: http://go.middlebury.edu/middnews?200605tenure
Yu Inaugurated
Longtime Middlebury faculty member and administrator Clara Yu was inaugurated as president of the Monterey Institute of International Studies at a gala ceremony in Monterey, California, last month.
Yu becomes the 12th president in the 50-year history of the Institute, which became an affiliate of Middlebury College last December.
For more on the inauguration, see: http://go.middlebury.edu/middnews?200605yuinaug
See also coverage in the Monterey Herald.
And listen to an interview with Yu on local NPR affiliate KAZU.
Liebowitz on Darfur
At the end of April, Middlebury president Ronald D. Liebowitz announced that the College would not invest in companies that support the Sudanese government and policies in Darfur.
To read the president's statement, see: http://go.middlebury.edu/middnews?200605darfur
Recycle Mania
Middlebury finished seventh in the sixth annual RecycleMania competition, a national contest among 100 schools from 33 states.
While the College earned a 7th place finish in the Grand Champion Standing, it took home the top spot in the category Targeted Materials (Food Service Organics) by collecting an average of 53 pounds of food waste per person to be composted on campus and used in fertilization. (By comparison, the second place school collected 42 pounds per person; the third place school 27 pounds.)
Sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, RecycleMania is a ten-week contest in which participating institutions seek to collect the largest amount of recyclables, produce the least amount of trash, and obtain the highest recycling rate.
For more, see: http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/
Bernie Was Here
Vermont congressman and U.S. senate candidate Bernie Sanders was on campus a few weeks ago, when he took part in a panel discussion that focused on social activism and policy making. The panel, "Global Partners in Development," was the culminating event for Midd8, a month-long series of events organized by students to raise awareness of global issues.
Divya Khosla '06, one of the student forces behind Midd8, told the Campus that Sanders "brought a face to policy making…providing a perspective on our capacity as students and leaders for achieving goals."
Starry Night
Middlebury physics professor Frank Winkler recently penned an opinion piece for the New York Times. "Stardust Memories," which ran on the op-ed page of the May 5 edition of the Times, heralded the 1,000 anniversary of the sudden appearance of a star that is part of the constellation Lupus.
The archived piece can be accessed, for a fee, at the New York Times web site.
Uncle Sam and the Bear
Anna Vassilieva, the head of the Russian studies program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, recently appeared on the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," where she spoke about rising tensions between the United States and Russia.
To watch the segment, visit: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/jan-june06/russia_5-10.html
In Memoriam
Frank Kelley passed away last week. From 1983 until his retirement in 1993, Frank served as director of residential life at Middlebury. He was a fixture in the community, having taught Latin and served as principal at Middlebury Union High School before coming to the College in 1983. The same spirit of camaraderie that led him to set up an office in a converted dormitory storage closet—he wanted to be closer to the students—prompted his attendance at a weekly breakfast with Middlebury friends at Steve's Diner. He was at Steve's every Tuesday morning, up until a week before he passed away at Porter Hospital.
Condolences may be sent to mailto:frankkelleyfamily@hotmail.com
Quinn Named A.D
After undertaking an exhaustive national search, Middlebury decided that the best candidate for director of athletics was under its nose all along: men's lacrosse coach Erin Quinn '86. Quinn succeeds Russ Reilly, who will retire on June 30 after 29 years of service to the College.
In his 15th season at the helm of the men's lacrosse program, Quinn is considered to be one of the premier coaches in the country, having led the Panthers to 10 NCAA tournament appearances in 11 seasons (including three national titles).
For more on the appointment, see: http://go.middlebury.edu/middnews?200605quinn
Game Time
The Middlebury baseball team won the NESCAC championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in the College's history.
In defeating Tufts, 8-1, on Sunday, Middlebury concluded the NESCAC championship with a perfect 3-0 mark, while pounding out a tournament-record 59 hits. The Panthers advance to the DIII New England Regional Championship, which begins in Harwich, Mass., on Wednesday.
And if it's spring that means there is lacrosse news to report. The women's team advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the 13th consecutive year with its 11-9 win over Bowdoin on Sunday. Middlebury will meet The College of New Jersey on Saturday in a game played at Stevens Institute in Hoboken, N.J.
The men's team advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals with a second-round, 17-4 win over Springfield at Youngman Field on Saturday. Middlebury travels to Cortland State on Wednesday to play for a berth in the national semifinals.
For up-to-the-minute Panther news, see: http://www.gomidd.com
Reunion 2006
Reunion 2006 is fast approaching! To register online, check out a preliminary schedule or to see who is coming, visit: http://go.middlebury.edu/reunion
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