Senior Administration Implements Cabinet Structure

In an all-campus email on May 9, President Laurie Patton announced the following changes in the structure of her leadership team:

Dear Middlebury Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I’m writing to announce a minor change in the structure of our senior administration. When I arrived at Middlebury nearly three years ago, I intentionally chose to maintain the large Senior Leadership Group (SLG) that was in place in 2015. That structure ensured that my own introduction and orientation to Middlebury was as comprehensive and informed as possible.

After consulting with members of the administration, I have instituted a new structure that preserves the important, broad input of the SLG while creating a smaller team—a Cabinet—that will focus on the operational work of the institution and improve the efficiency of decision making—something that I know has been a priority for many of you. We have been testing this structure the last few months and it has been working well.

This new Cabinet will include Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Jeff Cason, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration David Provost, Vice President for Communications and Chief Marketing Officer Bill Burger, Chief Diversity Officer Miguel Fernandez, Vice President for Advancement Colleen Fitzpatrick, Vice President for Human Resources and Chief Risk Officer Karen Miller, General Counsel Hannah Ross, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Baishakhi Taylor, and Chief of Staff and Director of Community Relations Dave Donahue.

The Cabinet will meet each Monday.

The membership of the Senior Leadership Group, in addition to the members of the Cabinet, will include Dean of Admissions Greg Buckles, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Institute Jeff Dayton-Johnson, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Andrea Lloyd, Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropic Advisor Mike Schoenfeld, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Language Schools Stephen Snyder, Vice President for Academic Development Tim Spears, and Interim Dean of International Programs Carlos Velez.

The Senior Leadership Group will meet as a whole every other Wednesday, with the alternating Wednesdays reserved for small group meetings focused on specific issues.

While we don’t think any individual offices beyond SLG will be affected, I wanted to let you know of the change. I am confident this new structure will reduce meeting time, allow senior leaders more time with their constituents, and increase focus and efficiency. Most importantly, it will continue to provide me and the rest of the leadership with the broad diversity of views and information that is so important to Middlebury’s culture, and that will help us to continue to guide the institution.

Laurie Patton
President