Serve Our World

We are a public-minded private institution, committed to being ever more so: for our town, state, nation, world, and planet.

Initiative Four: The Town’s College and a College for Vermont

The social and economic health and vibrancy of our town and state are essential to our well-being. We will bring the energy and imagination of our students, faculty, and staff to advance the good of the place where we live. 

To do so, we will: 

1. Partner with the town and state to create an innovation zone to spark the local and regional economy and advance the entrepreneurial spirit of students, strengthening ties between local innovation initiatives and the College.
2. Launch a Vermont Policy Solutions Studio in partnership with state and local government to address complex challenges; create clusters of community-engaged courses to enable faculty, students, and staff to work alongside neighbors and civic partners on local and regional issues.
3. Broaden community access to libraries, arts spaces, and athletic venues; establish an Arts Engagement Initiative through performances, exhibitions, and community arts programming.
4. Continue and expand work addressing the urgent need for affordable housing in our town and the surrounding county.
5. Explore a loan forgiveness program for graduating seniors who commit to extended public service or innovation initiatives in Vermont.

Initiative Five: The Nation’s College and a College for the World

Middlebury will expand its longstanding commitment to public service by opening pathways for educators and professionals across the nation to access our distinctive programs. 

We will connect students more directly to opportunities in government, policy, and international affairs, while strengthening language learning, global study, and immersive experiences across our worldwide network. By deepening partnerships and expanding access to our Schools Abroad and global sites, we will create a more connected, globally engaged Middlebury that prepares students to contribute meaningfully at home and abroad. 

To do so, we will: 

1. Expand access to our Language Schools and the Bread Loaf School of English to public school teachers from around the nation; continue to advance our Master of Arts in Teaching program; strengthen the Bread Loaf Teacher Network; and pilot initiatives to equip high school educators with the knowledge and skills to teach in an age of artificial intelligence.
2. Explore new opportunities to support the ongoing education of public service professionals in areas of Middlebury’s distinctive expertise, including environmental studies, climate solutions, conflict resolution, and global security.
3. Leverage Middlebury’s Washington, D.C., office to connect students to research and internship opportunities and to alumni and practitioners across government, policy, and international affairs.
4. Provide all interested students with the opportunity to develop the language proficiency necessary to study abroad; explore opportunities to increase access to summer Language Schools, language tables, and language houses.
5. Identify two to three international sites as global hubs—convening spaces for students, faculty, and alumni that facilitate collaboration and partnerships with local universities, businesses, government entities, NGOs, civil society, and arts organizations.
6. Establish one to three additional global sites—in addition to our program in Oxford—where students can study abroad with English as their primary medium of instruction, with particular focus on social science and STEM majors seeking global impact in their studies and future careers.
7. Deepen links between our Schools Abroad and areas of Middlebury’s global strengths: conflict transformation, economics, environmental studies, geography, global health, global security, and political science.
8. Expand opportunities for cultural immersion by globalizing Winter Term; establishing short-term, faculty-led courses abroad; and creating greater opportunities for faculty and students to engage with our Schools Abroad.