Vermont Program Information

Bread Loaf Vermont Summer Staff / Offices

Vermont Summer Staff

The Bread Loaf Office (Bread Loaf Inn 104)

Hours: Monday - Thursday 9 am - 12 pm and 2 - 4 pm; Friday 9 am - 12 pm

The Bread Loaf office staff assist with academic, employment, and student life issues, schedule appointments with administrators, and provide other support as needed. Please feel free to reach out to them: they’re happy to help. 

The Front Desk (Lobby of Bread Loaf Inn)

Hours: Monday–Saturday 8 am–11 pm; Sunday 9 am–11 pm
Ext. 2700 or 802-443-2700
Innkeepers: Victoria Brown and Edward Brown
Staff: Kalli Federhofer, Matt Fiorentino, MacNair Randall, Peter Newton

The Front Desk is your go-to for residential life services. The staff (Bread Loaf alums) handle mail and other postal services, provide information about the campus and the local area, run weekly outings, address on-campus maintenance issues, assist with emergencies, and support residential life as needed.

Emergency Contacts & Information

For medical, fire, smoke, crime, carbon monoxide alarm, or other catastrophic emergencies, call 911 and then the Front Desk. After hours, all calls to the Front Desk will be routed to the Department of Public Safety.  In the event of a campus-wide emergency, Public Safety will send messages to your middlebury.edu email account through RAVE.

Academic Information & Resources

Schedule

For the meeting times and rooms of your classes, see the Vermont Campus Class Schedule. We do expect students to attend every class, except in case of illness or emergency.

Course Drop/Add

Because of the compact nature of the term, we discourage “shopping” for courses. You may, however, drop or add courses during the Drop/Add period. Only courses with open spaces may be added. All Drop/Add requests must be made, in-person, through the Bread Loaf office only (not via an arrangement with the professor.)

Libraries

You have access to the main Middlebury library, the Davis Family Library, which is located in the middle of the Middlebury campus. Ordinarily hours are: Monday-Thursday, 7:30 am–midnight; Friday 7:30 am-5 pm; Saturday 9 am-5 pm; and Sunday 9 am- midnight. Please check Middlebury Libraries for updates.

You can also use the Davison Memorial Library on the Bread Loaf campus (open 24/7). Davison has comfortable study space, a printer/photocopier, a small collection of British, American, and world literatures, and the reserve readings for Bread Loaf courses. At Davison, you can access other Middlebury library resources and order books and articles from the Davis Library and through Interlibrary Loan (these will be delivered to Davison within 1-3 days). Reference librarians will be available every weekday to assist you. See also the BLSE LibGuide and Middlebury’s off-campus resources.

Technology

Wireless connections are available throughout the campus, in dormitories and public spaces. Ethernet ports are available in the Inn Lobby, Davison Library, and Apple Cellar (see below). Middlebury IT staff will be on campus during the opening week to assist you with accessing your Middlebury College account, BLSE wi-fi, and printing. See also the Bread Loaf Technology Guide for the how-to’s of connecting at Bread Loaf.

The Apple Cellar, on the ground floor of Davison Library, serves as our computer center. A quiet, air-conditioned workspace, it has both MACs and PCs for your use as well as trained staff to assist.

Ken Macrorie Writing Center (Annex Basement / Hours TBA)

The Ken Macrorie Writing Center, staffed by trained Bread Loaf students, offer students rich opportunities to develop discipline-specific writing skills in the context of their summer work.

Residential Life: Information & Resources

Campus Housing

All dorms are co-ed, with a combination of single-occupancy and shared bathrooms. We encourage your to keep your room locked when you’re not there: thefts are rare at Bread Loaf, but they happen. BLSE does not assume responsibility for stolen personal items.

A few important dorm policies:

• No overnight guests.
• No smoking in any campus buildings, including dormitories. If you smoke outdoors, make sure that you’re away from any open window and that you dispose of all smoking detritus in proper receptacles.
• Leave your appliances (radios, TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, microwaves, hot plates, coffee pots) at home: dorm wiring will not support them. You may use hairdryers or curling irons in grounded outlets in the bathrooms.
• Candles, incense, halogen lamps are not permitted in dorm rooms; nor are fires, in in-room fireplaces. Be aware, too, that the heat from a running laptop can ignite flammable bedding. Campus buildings are old and wooden, and vulnerable to fire.
• No pets. (Guests who bring dogs to campus must keep them on a leash.)

Quiet Hours & Quiet Dorms

To promote an environment conducive to study, we require that all campus dorms be “quiet” from 11 pm to 7:00 am every day, even on weekends. We designate a few dorms (TBA) as “quiet” to accommodate student requests: in these dorms, quiet hours start at 9:30 pm. For all times and dorms, please use headphones when using a sound-producing device.

Quiet hours do apply to dorm porches: social gatherings during the week and on weekends must end when that dorm’s quiet hours begin. If you’re organizing a dorm event, make sure you’ve gotten a green light from all the residents.

You may use the Barn social space or the tent outside to congregate after hours. But please keep the noise down, since it will carry across (and beyond) campus.

Campus Dining

Our Inn dining room offers cafeteria-style meal service, with vegetarian and non-vegetarian food options. Grab ‘n go containers are available, as are picnic blankets (from the Front Desk) and picnic tables. Meal service will begin with lunch on Monday, June 26, and follow “weekend” hours through Tuesday dinner; the regular meal schedule will begin with Wednesday breakfast.

Off-campus students and their families may join us for the opening picnic, the Frost picnic, and all Friday dinner picnics; they may also purchase individual meal tickets from the Front Desk for any other meals they’d like to take on campus. 

Telephone Services

Cell service at the Bread Loaf campus is limited: ATT and Verizon work best. You can make local calls from landlines in dormitory halls and the Inn lobby: dial 9, then the phone number with area code (802). Outside callers can reach you by calling the Front Desk, 802-443-2700, up until 11 pm: the Front Desk will route these calls to your dorm and take messages. After 11pm, anyone needing to call you RE an emergency should call Public Safety (802-443-5911).

Amenities

• Laundry Facilities: Coin-operated washers and dryers are available on campus, in the laundry building behind the Inn. You’ll need quarters: the Front Desk can make change.
• Campus Exercise Room (Barn East): We are pleased to be opening an exercise room (!!) on campus this summer, to help support your wellbeing and health. Equipment includes two elliptical trainers, two treadmills, and two stationary bikes. Hours TBA.
• Campus Bookstore (Barn East / Monday - Thursday 10 am to 1pm): Middlebury is pleased to be re-opening our campus bookstore this summer. For sale will be a selection of books by our faculty and speakers, along with “school” supplies, Bread Loaf-branded clothing, toiletries, and other necessaries.

Campus Culture

Bread Loaf is committed to creating a campus culture that is welcoming and inclusive, respectful of differences, and mindful of the environment – a culture that maximizes our ability to learn from each other and build a better world. We aim to provide staff support and resources that will amplify the connections between, and impact of, our curricular and co-curricular programs.

Our Academic Community

• Dean’s/Director’s Open Office Hours. In addition to serving as your academic advisors year-round, Emily and Lyndon are available during the session to talk with you about all aspects of your Bread Loaf experience, at the Vermont or other campuses, or in our on-line program. They’ll be holding weekly open office hours (date/time TBA) for sharing thoughts about your trajectory through the program, brainstorming about campus events, addressing Bread Loaf’s reach or outreach, or discussing other issues of particular interest to you.       
• Student Events. Students are welcome to organize events, open to the full BLSE community, that supplement the programming the School provides. In the past, for example, students have organized Zumba classes, campus tree tours, and “teachers teaching teachers” discussion groups. If you’d like to arrange an all-school event that requires campus space, resources, or PR, please reach out to one of the DAs, who can assist in identifying the appropriate venues, space, and timing and direct you to other support or resources. To host a social gathering in your dorm, you should consult with your dorm-mates and be respectful of campus quiet hours. 
• Alcohol Policies. Our co-curricular program includes events that are alcohol-free as well as those that serve alcohol along with non-alcoholic options. We follow Vermont state mandates, which are strict, and ask those who drink to do so responsibly and in accordance with the following policies:
  • Any alcohol served at a School-sponsored event must be consumed within the designated areas and time for that event.
  • Though you may bring alcohol to campus for your private use, you may not bring your own alcohol to any School-sponsored events or to the dining hall.

Our Larger Community

• Families. We are delighted to welcome the families who are residing with off-campus students into our community – to participate in co-curricular events, join us for the opening day and Friday evening picnics, and enjoy the campus spaces. Young children must be accompanied by an adult at all times and should play in areas away from the Barn or tent when classes and events are taking place.   
• Recreation. The Bread Loaf campus is located near walking trails, lakes, and ponds; we offer weekend excursions to some of the best. Though you can play volleyball, Bocce ball, croquet, ultimate frisbee, and tennis on campus and use our new exercise room, you also have access to Middlebury College facilities, including the gym, indoor track, Olympic pool, and (for a fee) golf course; (you’ll need a Middlebury ID, which you’ll get when you check in). For other local resources (including restaurants, movies, and stores), see the Food, Fun, and Frivolity guide compiled by the BLSE staff.
• Recycling. As a state, Vermont is greener than most, and Middlebury College, a longtime champion of the environment, makes recycling easy. Blue recycling containers are placed throughout the campus, clearly marked glass, paper, and plastic. The Front desk will take defunct batteries and other hazardous waste. Please play your part by turning off lights and fans when leaving a room, using reusable containers when possible for water and other potables, and doing what you can to save paper and trees.