Class of 1976

For a complete list of Reunion events, please check the Schedule Page closer to June 2026.

Remember When?

Rediscover fond and fun memories with your classmates by browsing these collections!

• The Kaleidoscope 1976
• New Faces 1972

Connect with Classmates

Share photos or memories and plan that meetup with your friends in the Class of 1976 Facebook Group. 

Reunion Volunteers

Contact your Advancement staff liaisons and find helpful volunteer resources.

Class of 1976 50th Reunion Class Gift

Please consider a special gift in celebration of your milestone 50th reunion. Gifts can be of any size or type. Your support will help open the door to Middlebury College for generations of deserving students. Thank you!

Donor Stories

Jill Cowperthwaite

How has your Middlebury experience impacted your life?
I first heard about Middlebury when I was 14 years old. My first boyfriend was Peter Boucher ’76, and his father, Robert Boucher ’49, told me that if I ever decided I wanted to attend the College, I should just let him know. Long story short, I relayed that wish to him in December of 1971, and the rest is history—Middlebury has shaped my life in countless ways.

• My friends: Several girls I lived with on the second floor of Battell South became my dearest, lifelong friends, and I’ve also maintained cherished friendships with other classmates and alumni over the years. Having been president of the College’s Rocky Mountain Chapter for seven years and an active volunteer for about 35 years—and with a daughter, Caroline “Carly” Jones ’09.5, who is also an alum—I have been happily involved with Middlebury my entire adult life.
• My education: I can still picture myself as a student and the challenge, satisfaction, and joy I almost always derived from learning with the likes of Michael Claudon, John Elder, John Hunisak, Marjorie Lamberti, David Rosenberg, and Pardon Tillinghast, among others.
• My love of Vermont: I will always be grateful to have lived and learned in the midst of such a gorgeous, inspiring landscape—one that offered expansive physical and intellectual horizons.

What keeps you connected to Middlebury?
My ongoing relationships with Midd alumni friends of all ages, students, former professors, and staff—along with my fond memories and deep gratitude—keep me continually connected.

What inspires you to support the College?
I am inspired to support Middlebury because I believe deeply in higher education as a way to provide young people with the skills and resources to communicate, navigate, appreciate, and contribute meaningfully to our complicated world. Supporting the College also brings me great personal satisfaction, and I feel I owe Middlebury an enormous debt for all the ways it has enriched my life.

Further, as codirector of the Gates Institute’s biomedical research internship program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, I have worked with extraordinary Middlebury students who inspire me greatly. Finally, having spent most of my career working in and volunteering for academic organizations, I know firsthand how essential alumni support is.

What makes you most proud to be an alum?
I am profoundly proud to be a Middlebury alum for many reasons—most of them rooted in its people. I remember hearing a story years ago about a Middlebury alumna who was at a bar with a date. During the evening, she happened to meet someone who had also gone to Middlebury, and they struck up a lively and prolonged conversation. As she left the establishment that night, her date turned to her and asked, “What’s this Middlebury thing, anyway?”

My Middlebury friends and I have spent countless hours trying to answer that same question. Somehow the College attracts people who choose to forgo city lights for the wilds of Vermont—people who come together in a beautiful corner of the world to fuel their minds, make their own fun and, if they are lucky, forge relationships that withstand the test of time. When I meet a Middlebury student or alum of any age, it’s as if they immediately come with a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, and we always seem to have something special in common.

Nothing reminds me of this more than working with our fellow ’76ers to plan our 50th Reunion. They are so capable, impressive, and fun—and being in their midst makes me inordinately proud of the bond we share.

Why should classmates consider making a special gift now, on the occasion of your 50th Reunion?
Being involved with Middlebury over the years has become one of the most joyful and significant parts of my life. Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful for my own experience as a student and alum, as well as for the many alumni, students, professors, and staff I’ve worked with, played with, or simply known. More than ever, I am keenly aware that there really is “a Middlebury thing.”

Having never missed a Middlebury Reunion—except our 45th due to COVID—I have watched eight wonderful 50th Reunion classes march into the chapel for Convocation. Each time, I’ve been touched by their number, spirit, and loyalty to the College. The 50th Reunion has always been a great big deal—and quite unbelievably, it is now ours.

The 50th Reunion classes I watched processing into the chapel over the years helped support our education. A gift to the College now is our way of doing the same—supporting the Middlebury students who follow us. A gift this year is also a tangible sign of hope and confidence in the College’s new leadership under President Baucom.

Given my background working with nonprofits, I know firsthand the importance of philanthropic participation. It gives institutions like Middlebury tremendous leverage in appealing to donors, foundations, and others.

Gifts—of any size—from our classmates in honor of this big Reunion will help bring bright, deserving students to Middlebury and will hopefully one day remind them of what they, too, might do in recognition of the education and heritage they’ve received.

Gary Holmes

How has your Middlebury experience impacted your life?
My public high school was not known for academic rigor, so I was out of my depth when I arrived at college. But in a good way! I was introduced to concepts, ideas, historical events, authors, political trends, artists, cultural developments, and ways of thinking that I didn’t know existed. For a couple of years, it was touch and go with whether I would make it to graduation, but I did, and I even received an A in sociology senior year. I wish I could tell my professors that although my grades didn’t reflect it, I was absorbing everything they told me, and that I’ve applied all that knowledge in my real life. I’ve never understood why people ask, “What are you going to do with that major?” when the answer is so clear: I’m going to live a full, curious, and reflective life.

What keeps you connected to Middlebury?
I feel that I am not quite done with Middlebury, even after all these years. When I was actually attending college, I followed the 90/10 rule. I spent 90 percent of my time with 10 people. But through Reunions and similar events, I’ve met many classmates that I’d only known by sight or name. I’ve gradually come to understand that I share memories and life experiences with hundreds of other people who, unbeknownst to me, are surprisingly fun and interesting. It’s like taking a DNA test and discovering that you have a huge other family that you never previously knew. I stay connected with Middlebury so I can sustain old friendships and build new ones—even at my advanced age!

What inspires you to support the College?
I am currently inspired by the new president, Ian Baucom, who seems to understand Middlebury’s mission as a place of learning and an incubator of thinking citizens. I hope he’s able to avoid becoming captive of the wokest elements in the college community, a fate that has befallen many a college president.

What makes you most proud to be an alum? 
About five years before he died, I gave my father a Middlebury hat. He later said that strangers would approach him and ask his connection to the College, adding that it was such a great institution. It made him so proud to say that his son and grandson had attended the school. He wasn’t someone who often told his kids that he was proud of them, but it did slip out that one time.

Why should classmates consider making a special gift now, on the occasion of your 50th Reunion?
This is probably not the answer that the Alumni Office wants, but Middlebury hasn’t been the main focus of my charitable donations. I tend to donate locally, to my church and to agencies that provide social services to marginalized populations in my community. Having said that, I think financial giving, like much else in life, should be balanced to reflect all our interests as well-rounded human beings. I recognize that Middlebury is not a struggling charity, like the refugee resettlement agency where I serve on the board of directors. Even so, I want to be an active, contributing member of the Middlebury community so that the college experience can remain more than just a nostalgic memory; financial support is one way to do that. My former minister used to say that when it comes to charitable contributions, we should “give until it feels good.”  So, when I donate to Middlebury this year, it will be because it feels good for me.

Greg Moore

How My Middlebury Experience Impacted My Life
The liberal arts education I received at Middlebury has profoundly shaped my perspective and approach throughout my life. It exposed me to a wide range of languages, cultures, customs, and political systems, all of which I encountered in my career as a physician, military officer, and professor. Middlebury provided a strong foundation, setting me on the right path early on. I believe the success I have achieved in various situations can be traced directly to the education and experiences I gained during my time at Middlebury.

Staying Connected to Middlebury
My ongoing connection to Middlebury is strengthened through my role as an alumni interviewer. This position has allowed me to engage with high school students applying to Middlebury, as well as some who ultimately matriculate. I am consistently impressed by their numerous academic achievements and, more importantly, by their genuine desire to make a positive difference in the world. Their strong belief that a Middlebury education will empower them to do so is inspiring. I have been fortunate to interact with students both on campus and during their off-campus J-term experiences, and these encounters reassure me that they will go on to be productive and positive forces in the world.

Why I Support the College
In an era defined by rapid technological advancement and the rise of artificial intelligence, the ability to think critically is more essential than ever. A liberal education, such as the one offered at Middlebury, lays the groundwork for this kind of thinking and provides the flexibility to avoid becoming too narrowly focused. From my experience teaching at two major universities, I have seen firsthand the distinct advantages that come from a liberal education.

Pride in Being a Middlebury Alum
Serving as the co-chair of our 50th Reunion Yearbook Committee has been a source of great pride. This role has given me the opportunity to read the autobiographies of many classmates. I am impressed. We have aimed to create a publication that serves not only as a reminder of our days on campus but also as a testament to the journeys and achievements of our class over the past 50 years.

The Importance of Giving on Our 50th Reunion
Now, 50 years after graduation, we are in a unique position to reflect on how our adult lives began and what we have accomplished since then. For me, Middlebury was the launching pad for an incredibly fulfilling life and career. By making an annual contribution—and especially by giving at this significant milestone—we can, in some small way, “pay forward” the gift that Middlebury gave to us.

Betsy Walker

If I were to take my four years at Middlebury out of the equation of my life, I find it hard to fathom what would have played out on the pages of my (imaginary) memoir. There would have been no academic challenges or successes on which to hang my hat, no classroom epiphanies; no moments of greatness (to balance the challenging ones); no daily mingling with geniuses of all ages in parkas and hiking boots, over a Crest Room butterscotch sundae. (In another venue no doubt, but it seems as if they would pale in comparison.) I met four of my dearest friends in the second-floor south dorm rooms of the Old Batts—loyal devoted angels who I think of at least once a day (and text almost as often), friends with whom our post-Middlebury lives were just the beginning. More joy.

My Middlebury experience has influenced my life in more ways than I ever would have imagined. Case in point: here I am, 50 years out, still in love with the place and a co-chair, with Jill Cowperthwaite, of our milestone 50th Reunion in June. The memories I have, whether from brilliant classroom moments or social connections, are enduring. Many are powerful, many whimsical, some life-changing, but they all began at some point during my four years there and continue to metabolize. Long after our graduation, connections continue to be made.

From my autobiography: “When I consider the things that have accompanied me to the doorstep of our 50th Reunion—a beloved family, cherished Midd friends, rewarding work, crazy running—they connect in circuitous loops that always seem to touch back to my years at Midd. I call it not the butterfly effect, but the Middlebury effect.”

Those four friends keep me connected. I believe the five of us have attended every milestone Reunion together—babies or other family events may have precluded one or two. We refer to each other as our rocks, and for each other, and whether in joy or sorrow, we are always a phone call, or a day of travel, away. (A second case in point: they have willingly joined Jill and myself as volunteers on our 50th Reunion Committee!)

I’m inspired to support the College by all of the above. A good powerful/impactful/enduring education can be a joy to experience, and a great joy to share. Another unfathomable: the fact that such an educational experience has to be beyond the reach of so many talented, bright, and promising young kids. Supporting the College, in any way or size, is a powerful way to spread the joy.

Middlebury endures. I’m sure just about everyone has considered making that special gift between now and June. There are so many ways to give to the school, numerous models of generosity, recipes for support. But when I think of giving to Middlebury, what I really see are the faces and a hopeful perspective on the lives of the students we are able to help. Because in so doing, what giving does is very basic. It sets them up for success—academic or personal—and endows them with skills for processing whatever Goliaths they will encounter on their post-Midd journeys. And as we ’76ers prove, that core—that spirit—endures far beyond what we experienced in our four short years there, a half-century ago.

To me, the answer to all of these questions can be summarized in one word: Joy.