President of the College

Central College Lawn (located in the vicinity of Munroe and Voter Halls)

Please come prepared for all weather conditions (warm coats, rain gear, hats, sunscreen, etc.) and wear shoes appropriate for damp, uneven, grassy terrain.

A tent, to provide sun or rain protection, will be located behind the seating area. A live broadcast of the ceremony will be provided in Wilson Hall in the McCullough Student Center (directly behind the rain tent) and Mead Chapel (up the hill) for those who wish to be inside.

Mead Memorial Chapel
President Patton will address the senior class.

All are welcome to attend. Seating is available on a first come, first served basis. A live broadcast will be provided in Wilson Hall, in the McCullough Student Center, and in Dana Auditorium, in Sunderland Language Center. Mead Chapel is not air conditioned. For guests who prefer a more comfortable setting, Wilson Hall and Dana Auditorium offer cushioned seating and air conditioning.

In The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux, Professor Cathy N. Davidson argues that the American university is stuck in the past—and shows how we can revolutionize it to prepare students for our age of constant change. Our current system of higher education dates to the period from 1865 to 1925, when the nation’s new universities created grades and departments, majors and minors, graduate and professional schools in an attempt to prepare young people for a world transformed by the telegraph and the Model T.

What is a robust public sphere? Why is it important to American society and global citizenship? How should we construct it? How can a liberal arts education prepare students to engage it? What does free expression have to do with the creation of a robust public sphere? How should inclusion and political difference factor in our understanding of a robust public sphere?

Graduates and their guests are welcome to enjoy lunch in Proctor and Ross Dining Halls

On Saturday morning, President Laurie L. Patton will address the members of the senior class and their guests, and the traditional Gamaliel Painter’s cane will be bestowed. Please visit the February Celebration website for details.

The event will also be live streamed at www.middlebury.edu/stream

Shabana Bisaj-Rasikh is the president and co-founder of SOLA, the first girls’ boarding school in Kabul, Afghanistan. She and hundreds of her faculty, staff, and students narrowly escaped the city in August as the Taliban took over. SOLA has relocated in Kigali, Rwanda, in order to provide continuity of education. Shabana has written about her recent experiences, and the importance of women’s education, in the Washington Post and other venues. She is now a regular contributor to their opinion section.  We are delighted to welcome her back home to Middlebury.  

Hear Middlebury singer, author, and celebrity Francois Clemmons read from his debut memoir, now out in paperback. Known to the world from his role on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” Dr. Clemmons has long been known locally as the Alexander Twilight Artist in Residence and director of the Martin Luther King Spiritual Choir at Middlebury College, where he served from 1997 until his retirement in 2015. He is also an actor, activist, and Grammy Award–winning singer.

Central College Lawn
Rain site: Mead Chapel

President Patton will address the senior class.

Seniors and February ’21.5 students presently enrolled as in-person learners are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP via Presence, as seating is limited. Overflow seating will be available.

Commencement guests and remote learners may not attend.

For a complete up-to-date schedule of Commencement weekend, click here.

Connie Schultz, American writer and journalist and Professional-in-Residence at the Kent State College of Communication and School of Media and Journalism, will deliver this year’s Robert W. van de Velde, Jr. ’75 Memorial Lecture. Her topic is “Next: Journalism in an Age of Reckoning.”

Click here to join by Zoom.

PW = 981841