Administrative Appointments

In a message to the campus on December 19, 2018, President Patton announced the appointments of four administrators who had been serving in interim positions.

Dear Members of the Middlebury Community,

As fall semester draws to a close, I’m pleased to announce the continuation of a number of administrative appointments that will take effect on January 1, 2019. All of these appointments recognize excellent work performed in interim roles this year and represent a commitment to our leadership and direction as an institution.

• Jeff Cason will become executive vice president and provost. Jeff has deep wisdom and long-term experience in virtually all facets of Middlebury—as a faculty leader at the College, as vice president for academic affairs for the Language Schools, and as interim provost since January, where he has worked closely with the Institute. His recent leadership of the Envisioning Middlebury process has been both inclusive and visionary. Jeff is known as a “can-do” person and a great listener—a great combination to lead Middlebury into the future.
  
• Baishakhi Taylor will become vice president for student affairs and dean of students. In her interim role in this position, Baishakhi has demonstrated great rapport with students, boundless energy, and a gift for systems thinking—“seeing the big picture” on behalf of the Middlebury student experience. Her leadership of Community Council, as well as of the ongoing “How We Live Together” project, which is the first internal and external review of our residential and Commons system, has been exemplary.
• Steve Snyder will become vice president for academic affairs for the Language Schools, a title he adds to his current position as dean of the Language Schools. Steve will oversee the Language Schools and support Middlebury’s other schools as senior administrative officer to the Schools’ Board of Overseers. Steve is the Kawashima Professor of Japanese Studies and a highly regarded scholar and translator of Japanese fiction. He has been especially active in encouraging greater collaboration among language faculty from across the institution to further Middlebury’s leadership in language pedagogy.
• Carlos Velez will become dean of international programs, overseeing the Schools Abroad, the College’s Study Abroad Program, and International Student and Scholar Services. Carlos has been a faculty member in the Psychology Department for more than 25 years. He came to this administrative position after having served in a number of leadership roles with the College faculty, including chair of Faculty Council. He has assumed the responsibilities of interim dean with impressive skill and has great facility in negotiating the complexities associated with Middlebury’s global network.

I know you join me in congratulating Jeff, Baishakhi, Steve, and Carlos on these important appointments.

As we move toward break, let me take the time now to say how much we appreciate all the work you do to make Middlebury vibrant. All the best wishes for the holiday season!
Yours cordially,
Laurie Patton
President