From January 2005 through May 2006, the Middlebury community participated in the development of a new strategic plan, Knowledge Without Boundaries. Early last May the Middlebury Board of Trustees voted unanimously to endorse a plan that reflected the participation and the collective vision of hundreds of members of the Middlebury community – both on and off campus. The plan is available on the Middlebury College web site; for those on campus, hard copies are available in Old Chapel and in the College Library.
Our goal was to produce a plan that would not sit on shelves, but rather would serve as a dynamic working document. We have moved beyond the planning and analysis phase toward beginning the implementation of 82 planning recommendations. President Liebowitz and members of his senior staff have been involved in the planning implementation since last spring. We are using the Implementation Table (page 75 of the plan) as a guide for this work. Each of the 82 recommendations has been assigned to the portfolio of one member of the President’s Staff. That individual is working with managers, offices, and committees to further develop and advance the various recommendations.
Two recommendations were completed by the beginning of summer 2006 – the adoption by the Board of Trustees of a new mission statement, and the development of an academic rating system by our Admissions Office. Over the spring and summer months, specific steps were taken to begin the implementation of 20 other recommendations. I expect that some of these will be completed by the end of the calendar year, but others will continue much longer and a few may never be fully completed. (An example of the latter is item #8 – expanding the representation of students of color, a challenge that the College has worked on and made gradual and good progress with over several decades.) These 20 items will remain on our agendas this year, along with around 20 more recommendations selected from the list of 82. Eighteen other planning recommendations are ongoing items but are not the subject of significant new attention this fall. This means that perhaps 22 of the recommendations will not be tackled this year, but that’s a guess and the number may surely change.
The plan emphasizes that we will implement the more costly items by carefully matching implementation measures with available resources. In particular, the successes of our fundraising efforts in support of the Plan’s objectives will, in part, guide the rate at which we move forward with some items. Examples include the recommended strengthening of our financial aid programs and the expansion of the Middlebury faculty. To date, the broad support for these initiatives has been especially encouraging.
Many in the College community will participate in carrying forward the planning agendas, and they need to be aware of steps being taken and of progress already achieved. We promised in the plan to hold ourselves accountable to the community for its implementation. This means that we will provide regular progress reports, perhaps two or three times during each year.
We have started to make good progress with some of the planning initiatives. I will mention here just a few examples.
#8. Dean of Admission Bob Clagett and his staff have developed a collaborative program with the Atlanta Public School System – the 21st Century Scholars Program – to attract students from diverse backgrounds having high economic need. In addition, President Liebowitz recently announced the appointment of Dr. Shirley Ramirez as Middlebury’s Dean for Institutional Diversity, effective January 1.
#12. Dean of Planning John Emerson is among the leaders of a national effort by NCAA Division III colleges and universities to identify positive ways to help institutions achieve greater alignment of intercollegiate athletic programs with their core academic missions. A pilot data collection project is now underway; when fully implemented the College Sports Project will gather information about thousands of students to help college presidents, athletic directors, and academic officers become better informed about progress in this important area.
#18. Dean of the College Tim Spears is beginning to work with faculty and staff members to address logistical issues in phasing in a proposed College-wide convocation series. Under this initiative, an all-community convocation with a major outside speaker would introduce a significant theme – to which conversation would return in different formats in subsequent weeks. It is a challenge just to find the time and space needed in our full schedules to locate these events, but we hope for a modest beginning in the spring.
#33–38. A series of recommendations address faculty resource needs in the context of proposed curricular changes. Vice President for Academic Affairs Alison Byerly, working with Dean of Faculty Sunder Ramaswamy, the Educational Affairs Committee, and Department Chairs, is supporting the faculty in efforts to re-examine our use of faculty resources and to explore ways to strengthen further the intense student-faculty interaction that characterizes the Middlebury experience.
#44. Dean of Students Ann Hanson and Vice President Byerly are laying plans for a student research symposium, with the first student presentations tentatively scheduled in April 2007.
#51. President Liebowitz is working with the Board of Trustees to create a structure within the Board, possibly a subcommittee, whose focus would be on the Language Schools, Schools Abroad, Bread Loaf Programs, and our new Monterey Institute affiliate. The goal is to increase general knowledge about these programs among trustees and to ensure that these programs remain a visible part of Middlebury’s strategic direction.
#56. Vice President Byerly and Dean of Language Schools and Schools Abroad Michael Geisler have worked with College officials in the Language Schools and Schools Abroad to develop a Masters-level program in Chinese. The Middlebury Board of Trustees has now approved the addition of this program.
#69. Executive Vice President and Treasurer Bob Huth is working with staff member in Facilities Services to develop the capacity to use biomass as a major energy source for the College’s heating plant and cogeneration of electricity. An initial proposal has gained approval by the Board of Trustees, and so this energy-saving, cost-effective, and carbon-reducing initiative is moving ahead.
The examples outlined here serve to illustrate the many efforts underway in the community to begin to act upon the recommendations in the strategic plan. We are all indebted to these individuals for their good work and leadership in advancing the College’s ambitious agendas.
John Emerson
Dean of Planning