Planning committees prepare reports for College's future

Author: Ben Salkowe

The Planning Committee for Middlebury's future is now wrapping up the first phase of its work. President Ronald D. Liebowitz recently announced in an all-campus e-mail that during finals week a forum will be held to preview preliminary findings of the Planning Committee task forces that have been investigating possibilities for the College's long-term strategic plan. "Each task force will give a five-minute summary of a few essential parts of their emerging work," said Liebowitz. "This gathering will be the last in a series of planning-related activities and events this year. It is primarily an opportunity to learn a little about the directions the planning has taken this spring, and to celebrate the completion of this important phase of our work."



Planning for Middlebury's Future



The Planning Committee was assembled at the beginning of this year with one of its primary goals, according to a December letter by John Emerson, dean of planning and Charles A. Dana professor of Mathematics, being to "provide a strategic road map for the College over the next half-dozen years." The committee is composed of a steering committee and 11 task forces, each investigating a particular aspect of the College, ranging from the curriculum to student life, from staff roles to faculty resources. Next fall the steering committee will ultimately review and prioritize the recommendations of the 11 task forces to create a single plan for the College through the year 2012.

Now, however, the task forces have spent the spring semester collecting information from all ends of the College community including faculty, staff, students, alumni and parents. "The 11 task forces are now in the final weeks of the first and biggest phase of their work," Emerson told The Campus in a recent interview. "They are drafting their reports and recommendations, and many of them are pulling together supporting background information. The reports will be submitted to the Planning Steering Committee and to President Liebowitz by Thursday, May 19."

To date, little information has been made publicly available regarding the findings of the 11 task forces - largely because the task forces have gathered so much information they are now "scrambling" to assemble their preliminary recommendations.

"I am not aware of any report that is completed now, and I have not seen even rough drafts of the reports," said Emerson. Emerson offered a list of items he expects may appear in the task force reports (see TABLE) but added that surprises could come as well.



Creating "Free" Time



Students who acted on a recent invitation to participate in an online survey for the Planning Committee were privy to a preview of the issues being discussed. Among the more unusual questions, the survey asked a number of questions on the possibility of creating a weekly time for campus-wide relaxation and discussion. One such question asked respondents how much they agreed or disagreed with the statement, "Middlebury should designate a period of time each week that is free of formal obligations and devoted to reflection and serious discourse." Another question asked what measures should be taken to create such free time, including the possibility of "an increase in the number of classes meeting at 8:00 a.m." or an increase in the number of afternoon or evening classes.

Emerson said students were the source of this idea. "These questions originated in substantial input from students and from faculty and staff members at several of our open community meetings late last fall and throughout the spring term," he said. "I was somewhat surprised by the strong sentiments favoring setting aside time for human interaction and engagement of serious issues and the 'life of the mind,' as well as for quiet contemplation and reflection. Many students have characterized their lives as being over-committed, with too many obligations, and too few opportunities for being thoughtful and reflective."

Creating a time for reflection and discussion would hopefully create additional informal outlets for pursuing the College's core intellectual mission.

Other questions in the survey asked about such issues as whether there should be an increased emphasis on senior year independent work (like theses), whether all students should be required to take a science lab course and how students feel about double majors.



Commons and Student Life



Of all the task forces, the task force on the commons and student life arguably had some of the most challenging questions to investigate. Among them were evaluating the commons and how they can promote "intense student-faculty interactions" outside of classes, and identifying future steps for the implementation of the commons. Because the Commons System is listed as one of the planning "parameters" - things that are off-limits for change, like the student body size - the task force was not concerned so much with whether or not to use the commons, but how.

"We took the strategy that whatever we had to do had to relate back to the Commons," said task force Chair Tim Spears, dean of the College and professor of American Literature and Civilization. As other task forces had noted, Spears said his group found that it was important to make sure students were not becoming too stressed and missing out on academic opportunities as a result.

"We ought to give each other a break," Spears said. "If we don't create a culture where it's OK to take risks, we don't learn."

Some of the preliminary recommendations Spears said his task force was working on included increasing the role of students in governing the commons, using the commons more actively in social life activities and making sure that as they progress, the commons are handled practically.

Spears noted that there are inequities in the way room draw is currently run that favor students in commons with better housing. Spears said that while students accept the current room draw inequities with the knowledge that eventually housing will be equal among commons, if future residential projects will not be pursued in the near future, it becomes really hard to sustain room draw as it is." One of the preliminary recommendations of the commons and social life committee will therefore be to encourage practicality in future implementation of the commons.

In terms of increasing the role of students in commons governance, Spears said, "The task force supports the ongoing efforts to make Student Government Association and Middlebury College Activities Board more commons-based." The hope is that as students take a greater role in governing the commons, it will become a more natural residential system and students will use it more in planning social events. In addition, an increased role in commons governance could promote use of the commons in academic curricula. Spears gave the example of a student using the commons to attract a guest instructor for a J-term course that could use commons facilities and resources.



The Next Phase



While the planning process is wrapping up its first phase, it is still in a preliminary stage. The specific recommendations of the task forces will only begin to be previewed in the coming weeks, beginning next fall the community will start to see the priorities of the full plan as it is assembled.

"I know that our exam week is an exceedingly busy time for all," wrote Liebowitz in his letter. "For those who cannot join this gathering, there will be ample opportunities to learn more about the findings and recommendations of the task forces in the months ahead."

"The Planning Steering Committee faces an enormous task this summer of organizing and assimilating the results of literally thousands of survey forms, and turning approximately 15 separate, independent bu
t sometimes overlapping task force reports into a coherent draft for future consideration by the community," said Emerson.

"I look forward to what are sure to be extensive conversations about Middlebury's future directions in the fall."