We write now with a small view into our financial future. Before we do, we thought it worth reminding you of our current fiscal state. In an earlier note we described how we are projecting a $13.0 million deficit for this year ending June 30, 2020, having been hit hard by the stock market downturn and a number of other factors. These include our obligation to refund unused room and board for undergraduates as well as fees from Study Abroad students, expected shortfalls in philanthropy, and lost revenue from auxiliary sources like the ski areas and bookstore as they needed to close early.
These past weeks, seniors have been on my mind. Many have written to me with news of their alternative plans on the April occasions where they usually gather—Earth Day, Passover, Easter, or the celebration of spring. (Thank you for writing and keep doing so!) I also spoke with one senior, Kenshin Cho, about his experience of “alternative” life on Middlebury’s campus in this extraordinary time. Kenshin is the Student Government Association treasurer, and we discussed the SGA’s inspired decision to donate the remainder of its funds this year to help with our efforts towards wage continuity. You can see and hear our conversation here.
One of the few certainties we are experiencing in the global coronavirus pandemic is the uncertainty it has brought to so many aspects of our lives. To help you understand what is happening at the College—and its impact on you as students and families, faculty and staff—we have operated on this assumption: That we can’t over-communicate with you in an environment that is so fluid, with things happening so quickly and, too often, tragically.
As we wind down spring break and head into the second half of a semester in which we are trying something completely new, we thought it was a good time to share an overview of our work with the entire community. My guess is that in your reading about the COVID-19 pandemic, many of you have come across the phrase “social distancing does not mean social isolation.” This past week has brought us a number of ways in which we are trying to realize that statement. I believe we are doing it with the values and dispositions that I have come to think of as distinctly Middlebury: integrity, rigor, connectedness, curiosity, and openness.
We are isolated now. The Vermont campus is emptier than it was. As I got out of my car on Tuesday to retrieve things from my office, I heard bells. Bells? The Carillon? I thought there must be something happening at Mead. But no, there couldn’t be. And then I realized: George Matthew is playing to inspire us, to orient us, to keep us together. Indeed, nothing was happening at Mead Chapel. And yet everything was.
Karen, David, and I are following up on the news from this morning that an individual in Addison County has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. We had a lot of information in there from a public health perspective and will, of course, continue to communicate that vital content as we follow developments around COVID-19. We also know that you have questions and concerns about what working at Middlebury will look like in the months ahead, and how your jobs and lives—and those of your families and loved ones—will be affected.
Since every day in this environment of rapid change now feels like a week, it seems like ages that we held our board of trustees meeting with you all, and learned of your inspired ongoing work in so many areas. And yet our meeting was only in late January—a month and a half ago.
I’m reaching out with some brief updates since we were last in touch, late yesterday. This Midd community of ours, here and away, has just been extraordinary. Because—of course you are. I needed you to hear that first. You have my deepest admiration and thanks as we all navigate this most difficult time. It is a time of sudden sadness and truncated hopes. And in the midst of that, the human connection has been deep and real.
A number of you have reached out to us to ask how you can help with our coronavirus response. We so appreciate it. We’ve been moved by your willingness to pitch in and care for the community.
As an educational institution, we have two overarching obligations to our community: to provide the academic opportunities Middlebury is known for, and to do so in a safe, healthy environment. The rapidly developing circumstances of the novel Coronavirus now require extraordinary changes to our usual practices to fulfill those obligations. We are making these changes in order to maximize our ability to continue the core educational activities that are our mission—teaching classes.
