Video Welcome to Students from President Baucom
President Baucom Greeting to Students Fall 2026
Good morning, Middlebury students
I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer.
With the start of classes just a few weeks away, I wanted to take a moment to catch you up on Middlebury’s strategic plan: Excellence. Purpose. Joy.
This past May, the board of trustees unanimously approved our new strategic direction for Middlebury; an affirmation that arrived on the heels of a tremendous amount of work by faculty, staff, students, administrators, alumni, and community members as we asked ourselves: What is Middlebury for?
We are, of course, for many things. Above all, we are for you, our students; and we are for our world. Our strategic plan is dedicated to ensuring that we deliver on those commitments. Its ambition is to establish Middlebury as the best liberal arts institution in the world.
In building it we’ve dedicated ourselves to three linked values: excellence, purpose, and joy.
We’ve chosen those words carefully.
We’ve chosen excellence because our teaching, arts, research, and scholarly mission depends on it, and because we want you to excel during your time at Middlebury and in your lives ahead.
We’ve chosen excellence with purpose, particularly a sense of public purpose, because that has always guided us. We are a public-minded private institution.
We’ve also named a sense of purpose because I believe our world is hungry for it, and because I believe that young people in particular are committed to it. I see that in every student I meet at Middlebury. You seek purpose during your years in college. You seek successful and purpose-driven lives after you graduate. We’re resolved to equip you for both.
Finally, we’ve chosen joy. That is not a word that shows up in most higher education strategic plans. But it should. College happens once, in the height of your youth. It should be a joy-filled time.
That time is about to begin again. Over the coming weeks you’ll be returning to campus. We have a few new things planned for you: including a series of “Midd Saturdays” with food trucks and live music on campus, some built around athletic events; others spanning trail hikes or apple picking around Addison County in the fall, and activities at the Snow Bowl and Rikert during the winter.
We’re also planning on initiating a series called Midd at Night, on Thursday and Friday evenings, with the simple goal of providing some opportunities for students to be together, delight together, find joy together. We’ll be sharing more information on those projects soon.
Above all, you’ll be coming back to each other, to our faculty and staff–to this amazing and once-in-a-lifetime place of living and learning alongside one another.
I can’t wait to see you and to welcome you back to your Middlebury home. We’re turning the lights on for you.
Dear Students,
I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer!
I’m writing to share this quick video message about some important and exciting things that will be happening this academic year, rooted in our strategic plan: Excellence. Purpose. Joy.
Starting this fall, we’re launching a series of “Midd Saturdays” with food trucks and live music on campus, some built around athletic events, others spanning trail hikes or apple picking around Addison County. In the winter, some of these events will move up to the Middlebury College Snowbowl and our Rikert Outdoor Center.
We’re also planning a series called Midd@Night—Thursday and Friday evenings—with the simple goal of providing opportunities for students to be together, have fun together, find joy together. Some examples of Midd@Night activities include trivia night, dive-in movies at the pool, game night, and concerts in the Bunker. We’ll be sharing more information on those projects soon.
Whether you’re a returning student or just starting your adventure, I can’t wait to see you and welcome you to your Middlebury home.
Sincerely,
Ian
Ian B. Baucom
President