A central tenet of Middlebury's mission is to "connect our community to other places, countries and cultures." This not only reflects our belief that understanding other cultures is essential to meeting the challenges of 21st-century citizenship but also serves to strategically integrate the College's rich array of programs into a global network connecting Middlebury to colleges and universities around the world.
Early in the last century, the College began developing programs that extended its reach literally and figuratively: the summer Language Schools, the Bread Loaf School of English, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad, and, most recently, the affiliation with the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
There has never been a time when Middlebury's contributions in this area were more important. No other liberal arts college is better situated to prepare students to take on critical roles as leaders and innovators in today's changing world. With the Middlebury Initiative, the College seeks to add to its resources and become THE global liberal arts college.