Trustees Approve Strategic Plan, Balanced Budget, Campaign Completion

The Middlebury Board of Trustees at its May 8–9 annual meeting approved a 10-year strategic plan, passed a balanced budget, and celebrated surpassing the fundraising goal of For Every Future: The Campaign for Middlebury two years ahead of schedule.

The strategic plan for Middlebury, “Excellence. Purpose. Joy.” focuses on three interconnected strategies—Strengthen Our Core, Serve Our World, and Prepare for Our Future—supported by seven initiatives designed to produce measurable results. The plan is anchored by three foundational commitments: diversity and pluralism, academic freedom, and academic excellence.

President Ian Baucom told trustees that the plan positions Middlebury to achieve academic and organizational excellence, and to do so “with purpose and joy.” He described Strengthen Our Core as an investment in students, faculty, and staff on the Vermont campus through targeted initiatives designed to support their success. Serve Our World focuses on deepening partnerships and expanding the College’s impact locally, nationally, and globally. Prepare for Our Future emphasizes developing innovative approaches to address emerging challenges, including areas in which the College already leads, such as climate change.

“I believe that the College can accomplish these things—leading in an age of global change; embodying excellence, purpose, and joy; knowing who and what we are for—and will have earned the right to be known as the best liberal arts institution in the world. That is our ambition and together we will accomplish it,” wrote Baucom in the plan he shared with trustees. 

The strategic plan is the result of an eight-month planning process that began in fall 2025 with a “listening tour” led by a 15-member steering committee and 12 working groups composed of 140 faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members. “I’ve never felt as much hope and optimism in my 25 years at the College,” said Jessica Holmes, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Global Health, who co-chaired the steering committee with AJ Vasiliou, associate professor of chemistry. Baucom shared details of the strategic plan in a May 12 email to faculty, students, and staff.  

A Balanced Budget 

Baucom and David Provost, executive vice president of finance and administration, presented trustees with a balanced budget. The fiscal year 2027 budget includes $327.9 million in both revenues and expenses, compared with a fiscal year 2026 budget that projected an $8.6 million deficit due in large part to low enrollment at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. The fiscal year 2027 budget also includes a 6 percent salary increase for faculty and an additional 3 percent in merit-based pay to be distributed in January through a forthcoming compensation system. The increase, which is made possible through a gift from an anonymous donor, moves faculty compensation closer to the upper third of its peers, a marker that Middlebury has sought to achieve for many years. Staff compensation will be funded with a 4.5 percent pool, which will include an overall market increase for all staff as well as additional merit pay through skill matrix movement, discretion, and promotions, and an investment in raising the lowest wage.

The budget is based on a 4 percent increase in undergraduate tuition with projected incoming undergraduate enrollments of 640 students for fall 2026 and 115 for February 2027. Trustees approved both the capital and operating budgets. Provost also presented multiyear budget projections showing annual surpluses increasing over the next five years, including a projected $10.9 million surplus in 2031.

Completion of the For Every Future Campaign 

Dan Courcey, vice president for advancement, informed trustees that For Every Future: The Campaign for Middlebury exceeded its $600 million goal by $45 million and achieved it two years ahead of schedule. Trustees voted to officially close the largest and most comprehensive campaign in the College’s history and celebrated the achievement with donors at a reception and dinner hosted by trustee Joseph W. Brown ’90 and Kristen Peterjohn Brown ’90. 

The campaign received strong support from undergraduate alumni, who contributed 34 percent of the $645 million raised, with 82 percent engaged in the campaign in various capacities. Other major contributors included trustees, parents, estate gifts, foundations, and organizations. Overall, more than 23,000 donors supported the campaign, which focused on three primary pillars: access and financial aid, academic excellence, and experiential learning. Approximately $282 million was directed to the endowment, which now exceeds $1.8 billion.

Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Trustees received an update on the status of the agreement to enter into exclusive negotiations with Soka University of America regarding the potential purchase of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. As part of the agreement to be negotiated, SUA will assume ownership of the Monterey campus real estate and begin administering select programs that they wish to continue under SUA’s purview using the name the Monterey Institute of International Studies at Soka University of America. The boards of both institutions approved the agreement to negotiate exclusively, authorizing them to enter a period of due diligence to finalize details and ensure a smooth transition. The agreement was announced in a May 11 message from Baucom; Michelle McCauley, executive vice president and provost; and Jeff Dayton-Johnson, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the Institute, and David Provost.

President’s Report

Baucom thanked trustees for their support during his first year as he and the senior leadership team worked to complete five key priorities: developing a strategic plan, presenting a balanced budget, concluding the For Every Future campaign, addressing issues at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and immersing himself in the campus community.

Baucom also thanked Michelle McCauley, who will step down as executive vice president and provost on June 30 after having served in a number of leadership roles since joining the Psychology Department in 1995. “Throughout her tenure as provost, Michelle has been a trusted advisor, a principled leader, and a deeply valued colleague. Her clarity, compassion, and steadfast commitment to Middlebury’s mission have left a lasting mark on this institution.”

Admissions and Marketing Partnership

Nicole Curvin, vice president of strategic enrollment and dean of admissions, and Julia Ferrante, vice president for communications and marketing, presented highlights of the incoming Class of 2030 and 2030.5 and an enhanced admissions-marketing partnership designed to introduce Middlebury to a wider range of prospective students. Curvin said 65 percent of the incoming classes enrolled during the first two rounds of early decision, including scholars from the Posse Foundation, QuestBridge, and College Track. The College expects to enroll approximately 640 first-year students in September 2026 and 115 in February 2027 from a pool of 11,458 applicants. Ferrante outlined recruitment initiatives and integrated communications and marketing efforts in social media; digital campaigns; placements across new and traditional media, including an underwriting partnership with WGBH; and admissions-cycle content supported by Midd Stories—a new website and weekly digital newsletter featuring campus news, features, essays, videos, photos, and social media content. Future efforts will draw on integrated comparative analytics and new vendor support for targeted marketing content through multiple channels.

Museum Update

Trustee Barbara Griffin Cole provided design updates on behalf of the Building, Grounds, and Lands Committee for the Marna O. Davis Museum, which is scheduled to open for operational purposes in fall 2028, with a public opening in January 2029 near the current site of the old Battell Hall—across from Johnson Memorial Building. The 35,000-square-foot museum will anchor a new arts quadrangle, house the College’s 7,000-object art collection along with newly acquired works, and include multipurpose classrooms and event space.

Cole said the previously proposed marble cladding for the museum exterior will be replaced with glazed ceramic, also known as architectural terracotta, to create a more natural appearance that complements existing campus architecture. Cole also previewed interior features, including a café, open study, and gathering spaces for students, and expanded exhibition galleries. The museum connects with Johnson Memorial Building, Wright Memorial Theatre, the Sunderland Language Center, and le Château to form the arts quadrangle. 

Tenure Promotions

The board approved tenure recommendations for the following three members of the College faculty, effective July 1:

• Clinton Cave, Neuroscience
• Eric Moody, Biology
• Virginia (Gina) Thomas, Psychology 

Board Elections and Appointments

The trustees elected the following officers for the 2026–27 fiscal year: Kirtley H. Cameron ’95 (chair); Ian Baucom (president); Leilani Brown ’93 (vice chair); Parker Harris III ’89 (vice chair); Hannah S. Ross (secretary); Erin A. Southworth (assistant secretary); David J. Provost (treasurer); and Alberto Citarella (assistant treasurer).

Other elected positions included Barbara Cole (second term—trustee); Karen Stolley ’77 (trustee emerita); Radhames Nova ’97 (fourth term—Schools Board of Advisors); Caitlin Steele (second term—College Board of Advisors); Jed A. Smith ’88 (charter trustee); Sandhya S. Douglas ’93 (term trustee); Jonathan “Jon” H. Owsley ’92 (term trustee); Lisa C. van Santen Gillanders ’00 (term trustee); Jasmin N. Johnson Glaeser ’05 (alumni trustee); Om Gokhale ’22 (recent graduate trustee); and Ashley Everett ’02 (College Board of Advisors).

Honoring Outgoing Trustees

The board paid tribute to the following trustees whose terms have ended:

• Suzie Reider ’87
• Mark Spence ’98
• Kashif Zafar ’92
• Cathy Lee ’92
• Rick Scanlon ’93
• Dani Virtue ’82
• Kenshin Cho ’20
• Belinda Badcock
• Carol Jones

Trustees also honored Susan Parsons Ritter ’83, chief of staff, deputy general counsel and risk officer, and associate secretary of the corporation, for her service in multiple leadership roles since 2007. “As vital as these jobs are to the efficient and effective operations of the Middlebury administration, Sue is much more than an officeholder,” Board Chair Ted Truscott read from a resolution signed by him and President Baucom. “She is a valued advisor, a trusted confidante, a dedicated alumna, a proud parent of three Middlebury graduates, a Panther superfan. Sue is Middlebury.”