March 22, 2002
Contact:
Sarah Ray
802-443-5794
sray@middlebury.edu
Posted: March 22, 2002
MIDDLEBURY,
VT - Middlebury College has received a $1 million gift
from the Felix and Elizabeth Rohatyn Foundation that will be
used to establish an endowment for the Colleges Center
for International Affairs (CFIA), which will be renamed the
Rohatyn Center for International Affairs.
The gift
will be used by the College to establish an endowment for
the center to support current initiatives as well as future
programming. The endowment will support the centers
lectures, symposia, executive in residence program, and
international colloquia, and provide funding for visits to
campus by international leaders, scholars, diplomats, and
business people. Middlebury College Acting President Ronald
D. Liebowitz said, “This generous gift will make it possible
for our faculty and students to engage the most pressing
international issues by providing opportunities for them to
interact with leaders whose work is directly related to
those issues. It is an honor for the College to have the
name of such an accomplished and respected alumnus on this
vital and stimulating center.” Director of the center and
associate professor of political science Allison Stanger
concurred, and added, “It will be a distinctive pleasure and
privilege to direct a center bearing Mr. Rohatyns
name. We are all deeply grateful.”
Felix
Rohatyn graduated from Middlebury in 1949. He was the United
States ambassador to France from 1997 to 2001. Prior to his
appointment as ambassador, Rohatyn was a managing director
of the investment bank Lazard Freres and Company in New
York, which he joined in 1948, becoming a partner in 1961.
From 1975 to 1993, he was chairman of the Municipal
Assistance Corporation (MAC) of the City of New York, where
he managed the negotiations that enabled New York to pull
itself out of its financial crisis in the 1970s.
The mission
of the CFIA is to support the Colleges “international
peak of excellence” by enhancing the academic program and
advancing global understanding. The centers activities
provide opportunities for Middlebury students to explore
international issues through direct interaction with
academic authorities and policy makers. The CFIAs
programs are integrated with regular coursework to encourage
faculty and students to explore issues across disciplinary
regional, and national boundaries.