Trustees in Transition: The Unprecedented Overhaul of Middlebury's Most Influential Board

The restructuring of the Middlebury College Board of Trustees comes at a time when the Middlebury brand is expanding its reach. With the increasing number of Schools Abroad sites, programs to the Summer Language Schools and the acquisition of the Monterey Institute of International Studies in recent years — added to the School of the Enviornment opening this year, it is clear that the College is going global. And now, the Trustees has made moves to keep up with the pace of the College’s expansion. This overhaul — announced in December — is the first of its kind in memory for the College. The new structure will commence at the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, 2014, but dynamics are already shifting. “I think its having an effect,” Vice President for Communications Bill Burger said. “I sense an excitement among the trustees as they begin thinking about how the new structure will work.” We sat down with him last week to push back the curtains on this restructuring and reveal the implications of what a reconfigured Board of Trustees might have on our growing institution.

Q&A with Bill Burger

Middlebury Campus (MC): What does the new restructuring say about Middlebury’s priorities?

Bill Burger (BB): It really says that it’s a reflection of the complexity of the institution and the fact that trustees are responsible for what happens here or at the Monterey Institute or at the various other schools. And that we have to structure  governance in a way that allows them to get the information that they need. The old model, it’s fair to say, was difficult for them to as a body get the information and acquire the knowledge they needed to make the kinds of decisions they need to make.

MC: Does the fact that the College has the most number of sitting trustees mean that the College will get the most focus?

BB: I think it’s an acknowledgment that the College is by far the single largest part of the Middlebury enterprise, by a significant measure. It has the most programs by far. It’s also the most financially complex. Because of those factors it merits the most attention from the board.

MC: What’s your opinion of the structure? Is it going to be more capable of addressing the complexities of an expanding college?

BB: Absolutely. I think it will bring a new focus and depth of understanding to the board’s governance work. That’s part of the new governance model for large institutions. We all want trustees to be more knowledgeable, more aware — especially as we become more complex.

MC: What prompted this change?

BB: It was prompted by a number of things, but the most important single one was the institution’s most recent reaccreditation review by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). That review, which was extremely complementary, made a point of noting that our governance structure placed too little emphasis on the activities of Middlebury outside of the College. In effect, the reviewers pointed out the obvious: Middlebury had grown in complexity over the years and we needed to bring the board’s governance structure into alignment with that reality. Ron Liebowitz (the College president) and the board took that recommendation very seriously.

MC: How much of this restructuring was driven by desire on behalf of the school versus the requirements of an accreditation board?

BB: I think the speed with which the trustees and Ron embraced the issue tells you how ready for it and open to it Middlebury was. Board Chair Marna Whittington and Ron appointed a Governance Working Group in 2012 and the process really began with that. It’s worth saying how unusual this is. Institutions — especially ones as large as Middlebury — don’t often revise their board structures. But here we had a board that was willing, even eager, to reinvent itself. That’s pretty remarkable.

MC: Any other colleges restructuring as extensively as we are?

BB: Not that I know of.

MC: When was the last time our board has undergone a restructuring of this degree?

BB: I’m not sure anyone knows. The reason the board has so many committees is because this board, like so many organizations, has grown organically over the years. New committees sprouted up as new needs required. The ultimate effect of decades of growth and reaction to that growth is that the model becomes overly complex. Now the board has had a chance to step back and reflect: If we could start from scratch, what would this look like. Let’s assume nothing and let’s create the model we think is the best one to enable us to confront the challenges ahead.