January 19, 1999

Middlebury College Receives $8M Grant from The

Starr Foundation

Grant is the

Largest Single Foundation Gift in Middlebury’s History

Middlebury College has received a grant of $8 million

from The Starr Foundation to support the Middlebury Schools Abroad.

The schools will be renamed the C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools

Abroad in recognition of this grant, the

largest single foundation gift in the College’s history.

The C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad are located

in France (Paris), Germany (Mainz), Italy (Florence), Russia (Irkutsk,

Moscow, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl), and Spain (Getafe, Logroño,

Madrid, and Segovia). Students from Middlebury and other institutions

attend the schools, which offer courses appropriate to both undergraduate

and graduate degree programs during the academic year. The schools

abroad have been in operation for half a century; the French School

in Paris, the first of the schools to begin operation, will celebrate

its 50th anniversary this year.

Dean of Languages and International

Studies Michael R. Katz said, “The grant

will support Middlebury’s existing schools abroad, help to develop

satellite programs in those countries, and foster new initiatives

in other areas of the world.” The College is currently considering

program locations in Asia and Latin America.

The gift builds on a long-standing

partnership between the College and The Starr Foundation. The

foundation has supported a number of programs and projects at

Middlebury, including financial aid and endowed chairs in language

and linguistics, and in Russian and East European studies.

According to Middlebury College President John M.

McCardell, Jr., “There has been no greater single sponsor

of the international curriculum at Middlebury than The Starr Foundation.

We look forward to building on our historic relationship, an association

that will forever link Middlebury and The Starr Foundation as

partners in preparing young people to undertake leadership roles

in the international marketplace.”

The Starr Foundation is a non-profit organization

committed to supporting education, health and human services,

arts and culture, and international programs. Headquartered in

New York City, the foundation has strong ties to New England and

has supported financial aid and other programs at a number of

Vermont institutions. The Starr Foundation is named for Cornelius

Vander Starr, founder of the American International Group Inc.

(AIG). Begun by Mr. Starr in Shanghai in 1919, AIG has grown to

become a leading international insurance organization.

Middlebury College is currently engaged in a $200

million Bicentennial Campaign that coincides with the College’s

approaching 200-year anniversary in the year 2000. The campaign

has raised $120 million to date.